


The Rise of Midnight Tracy

by rachfielden_xo



Series: The Rise of Midnight Tracy [1]
Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: Dark Magic, Elemental Magic, Friends to Enemies, Gen, Good versus Evil, Magic, Magic-Users, Revenge, Transformation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-13 21:33:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 12,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29532741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rachfielden_xo/pseuds/rachfielden_xo
Summary: When Jeff Tracy retires as leader/head of International Rescue, he passes the title onto Scott and gives him a powerful badge in the shape of the iR logo that contains magic only to be used for hero/good reasons. But Virgil thought he would get the title. When it’s suddenly taken away, he had a sudden urge for serious wicked revenge…
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s)
Series: The Rise of Midnight Tracy [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2169651
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	1. The Rise of Midnight Tracy (Part 1): Virgil’s curse

IN THE YEAR 2040

It was late at night on Tracy Island. It was coming up to nine PM. And yet, both sons of Jeff and Lucille Tracy (Scott aged 1 and Virgil only a few months old) were still wide awake, playing with their baby toys.

“Boys come on now,” Lucille sighed, raising a weary hand, “it’s very late.”

“You heard your mother,” Jeff added. “Bed. Now.” He picked up baby Virgil in his arms and ruffled his thick brown hair.

Scott began to cry in Lucille’s arms. “Oh dear,” she muttered but Jeff handed her a dummy. She slotted it neatly into Scott’s mouth. He stopped crying instantly.

Together, the two parents headed up the stairs to their boys’ bedrooms. Scott was first; he fell asleep quickly. Jeff tucked Virgil into his cot. “Goodnight son, sleep well.”

But when Jeff turned the light off, he was just about to shut the door when… FLASH!! A bright flash of green light exploded in the room. Once it disappeared, there stood the Hood. Powerful sceptre in hand and looking as mean as ever.

Lucille gave a little shriek which alerted Jeff of the occurance.

“What do you want, Hood?” He demanded.

“Just thought I’d stop by and say hello,” the villain responded with a wicked grin.

“Leave us alone!” Jeff practically yelled this time.

“I don’t think so. Now… where was I? Ah yes,”

Using the dark magic in the sceptre, the Hood picked baby Virgil up without using his hands.

“Don’t you dare hurt my son!” Shouted Jeff as he ran towards the Hood. But, with ease, he blasted a ball of green magic towards Jeff. It hit him and he was sent flying across the room, smashing into a wall.

Lucille gasped and drew in a sharp breath at the scene.

“Whatever you do Hood,” Jeff said croakily. “Don’t do it.”

The Hood was enjoying this. “And now… time to change the fate of your son,” His eyes started to glow bright green in the dark and he chanted a spell:

At the stroke of midnight on his 20th birthday, he will fall!

Baby Virgil started brawling his eyes out when he finally understood what was going on. Once the spell was complete, the Hood floated Virgil back to Lucille’s arms.

“Don’t worry,” she whispered, “you’re safe now.”

“Hood…” Jeff said. “What did you do to him?”

“I put a curse on your beloved son. Slowly but surely, he’ll begin to change!” And with that, the villain disappeared in a cloud of green smoke.

“Lucille!” Jeff stood up from the floor. “Is he OK?”

“I think so,” she replied. “But whatever that curse was, it looked nasty.”

“It’s our son I’m worried about.”

“Yeah, I know… What about his hair?” Lucille suddenly asked.

“What do you mean? His hair’s fine,” Jeff shrugged.

“No, no. His hair is turning black!”

“Black?” Jeff looked down at baby Virgil nestled in his mother’s arms. “What?”

“Does it look bad?” Lucille was getting worried for her child’s sake.

“I… I don’t know what to say.” Jeff was shocked at what that curse had managed to do. But surely enough, there was a steak of black in Virgil’s hair. “It doesn’t matter now. Let’s just get him and ourselves to bed.”

“All right,” Lucille breathed, “if you say so.”

She tucked her child back into the cot. “Night night. See you in the morning.” She whispered.

The pair then left the room and went to theirs. But Jeff had a horrible feeling that the Hood’s curse would affect his son in the future more than he’d want.

\- TBC -


	2. The Rise of Midnight Tracy (Part 2): A slow change

20 YEARS LATER; THE YEAR 2060

Jeff had noticed something really strange with his second son Virgil as he grew up over the years. As time went on, his son seemed to get more… aggressive. Vicious. Mean. But ever since his wife (Lucille) and father (Grant) died in an avalanche, he hadn’t really thought about it much. It just floated out of his head. During Virgil’s baby months (and after his curse) his hair gradually changed from brown to an inky midnight black. Even Brains couldn’t do anything about it. Virgil’s hair was now permanently that colour.

It wasn’t until a few days ago when Jeff overheard Virgil and Gordon having an argument. Apparently, Gordon had sneaked into Virgil’s room during the night and cut holes in one of his favourite shirts.

Here they were, fighting and arguing as normal brothers did. Everything was OK until Virgil did something horrible to Gordon. He, quite literally, rammed Gordon into a wall by the shoulders and went down that road to try and talk sense into him.

Jeff had seen the fear in Gordon’s eyes and on his face. They’d grown big with panic. Jeff had immediately thrown himself between his kids and stopped the argument.

“Woah, woah. Virgil, calm down.” He soothed.

“But Dad!” Virgil spat back, not really caring how he spoke, “Gordon completely destroyed one of my favourite shirts!”

“And?” His father asked, “does it really matter that much? You can just buy a new one.”

“Yeah, Virg. Listen to Dad.” Gordon added.

“Argh!!” Virgil shouted. “Dad, you always stick up for the younger ones! Uh, it doesn’t matter. I’m off to buy a new shirt.”

He stormed off back to his room in a huff. But Jeff saw something scary. As Virgil turned away, his eye colour flashed from its chestnut brown to green! Just one second and then it was gone. And that’s when all the nasty memories came flooding back. How Virgil was cursed by the Hood as a baby. How that at the stroke of midnight on his 20th birthday…

Jeff just couldn’t bear to think about it.

“Dad?” Gordon asked. “Are you OK?”

“Huh? Oh yeah, I’m fine. Just shocked at what Virgil did to you. Are you all right?”

“My shoulders hurt a bit but I’m good.”

“Good. Now, do you know where Alan is? I need to speak to him about something,”

“He’s with Brains and Scott in the hanger.”

“Thanks, son.”

Jeff left Gordon to do his own thing and find Alan.

—

Meanwhile, in Virgil’s room, Virgil was completely lashing out and taking out his anger by punching a pillow.

“Stupid Dad,” he muttered while gritting his teeth, “stupid family.”

Once he’d finished, he went back to his desk to try and complete a painting he’d started. But the angry emotions came flooding back; he snapped the paintbrush in half using his bare hands! He growled menacingly like a hungry wolf out stalking its prey.

“If only I had enough power,” Virgil thought to himself. “Enough power to… have control over everything and everyone. No one would be able to tell me what to do again. I’d be the leader.”

That’s when someone knocked on the door.

“Come in,” Virgil said in a gruff tone.

“Hey bro. It’s Alan. Dad says it’s breakfast time.”

“Coming.” Though Virgil didn’t feel like coming. He didn’t want to face his dad again or see Gordon’s cheeky face. He took a few deep breaths and tried to calm himself down. He just hoped nothing would happen to flare him up again.

Virgil slammed his paint book shut with such force that the desk shook. “Let’s go.”

—

At the table, Gordon was telling everyone about a weird dream he had last night.

“…And then, I got scared so much that I didn’t think about my next action. I punched the King in the nose!”

“No way!” Alan fell into hysterics.

“Yes way,” smirked Gordon. “Of course I found it hilarious.”

“Geez, what happened after that?” Scott asked.

“Nothing. That’s when I woke up. But I was laughing in real life too.”

“What a story,” Jeff said taking a sip of his water. “Anyway. Virgil? Do you have any news?”

“Not really,” he said sharply.

“Ooh someone’s in a mood,” teased Gordon in a silly high pitched voice.

“Hey someone hasn’t had their coffee this morning,” added Alan, giggling.

“Shut up!” Hissed Virgil while giving Alan the death stare.

“What? I’m just saying. Whenever you haven’t had your morning coffee, you act like that. It’s kinda funny, actually. The way you flare up easily.”

Virgil could feel his hands clenching into fists again at Alan's 'humour’.

Alan got up to refill his glass of water but as he was coming back, he tripped and spilled it all over the front of Virgil’s shirt.

Alan gasped and cried, “Oh my days! Sorry, Virg. I’ll clean it for you.”

But Virgil saw a sneaky gleam in Alan’s eyes that indicated to him that he did it accidentally-on-purpose.

“That’s it!!” Virgil lept up from his chair and charged towards Alan.

Alan gulped then let out a small scream but didn’t have time to run. Virgil rugby tackled him to the floor. His glass flew out of his hands and shattered on landing.

Virgil now had Alan by the collar. He pinned him to the ground with his strong grip and gave the little one such a vicious direct gaze that Alan couldn’t look away.

“Virgil!” Jeff had his arms wrapped around Virgil’s waist and was pulling him away from Alan. “Virgil calm down for heaven's sake!”

“Ugh, let go of me!” Virgil shouted, struggling to get away from his father's grip. Jeff was too strong so he couldn’t.

Scott and Gordon were both sitting at the table staring at the scene absolutely speechless.

Jeff shoved Virgil out of the way and helped Alan up from the floor. They both went back to their seats. Virgil gave Alan one last threatening gaze before continuing to eat his bagel.

Jeff couldn’t believe what he’d just witnessed. And he was scared that the Hood was right all those years ago. It had been made clear that the curse was slowly changing his son. It was almost painful to watch.

\- TBC -


	3. The Rise of Midnight Tracy (Part 3): Stolen

A call came in earlier later on in the day.

“International Rescue, we have a situation.” John’s familiar voice rang out through the lounge.

“What’s is this time John?” Asked Scott.

“I’ve received a distress call from a transport ship in space. Three crew members are on board. Two adults, one child. The engines have malfunctioned and they're slowly drifting off course on their way back to Earth.”

“Hmm… we’ll need Virgil and Alan for this one. Let the crew know International Rescue is on their way.”

“OK, Scott. I’ll let them know.” Then John rang off.

“Alan, Virgil, you’re both need—”

“We already heard you,” Virgil interrupted as he and baby bro came up from the kitchen. “We’re on our way.”

Scott saw that Virgil had calmed down a lot. Hopefully, he’d be OK for the mission.

Black-haired bro and baby boi sat in their seats which took them down to the hanger; that’s where TB3 was kept. Once changed into their rescue uniforms, the automatic arm loaded them into the rocket. Finally. Launch time.

5

4

3

2

1…

“Thunderbird 3 is go.” Alan’s voice said as the rocket fired its engines then blasted off away from the Island and into space.

Because the two boys were so used to the ride, it didn’t take long at all for the ship to exit Earth’s orbit.

“We just left Earth’s atmosphere,” said Virgil as the rocket leveled out. “John, is there anything we need to know?”

“Actually yes,” the Space Monitor replied bringing up a hologram. “The crew just phoned in again saying that the malfunction has damaged the thrusters. Now in 45 minutes, they’ll explode. Their location is above Western Australia.”

“So we need to move quickly then.” Alan interrupted as he clicked some buttons on his control panel. “But luckily, we don’t need to go very far.”

“Exactly. I’ll keep you updated if anything else occurs. Good luck.” Then John disappeared from the hologram.

Brothers two and three didn’t need to be going for long as they saw the transport ship within minutes.

“We’re coming into range now. Stand by.” Virgil told the communicators. “Alan, slow down a few notches, that way we won’t overshoot the ship. I’ll phone in and tell them to turn off the engines.”

Virgil set to work calling the crew. It took a few rings but eventually, a man picked up on the hologram.

“Hi there. This is Virgil Tracy from International Rescue. Can I ask you to turn off the engines so we can get a closer look at them?”

The man (who appeared to be the dad of the child) replied, “Yes I can. The malfunction may have damaged everything else but we can still turn the engines off.”

“Perfect. Thank you.” Then they rang off. “Right, Alan, turn left 37 degrees. That way we’ll be in line with the ship.”

“Virgil,” Alan butted in. “I’m not a toddler. I’m frickin 17.”

“Right. Sorry.” Said Virgil then looked forwards again. But couldn’t help but smirk a little.

Alan did as he was told and turned left 37 degrees. As his big bro said, they were now parallel to the transport ship.

“All right, Virg. I’m going to go out on my hoverboard and take a closer look. Can you look after Thunderbird 3 for me?”

“Yeah sure. Try and spend as much time there as possible to have a good look. But not so long that we run out of time.”

“OK. Thanks.” Virgil opened the hatch after he and Alan had put on their helmets. Baby bro got onto his board then set off.

Alan thought Virgil was going to look after his ‘bird for him. But Virgil had…other plans.

Once Alan was a fair distance away from Thunderbird 3, he felt his eyes flash from brown to green again. Whenever this happened, Virgil always had that feeling of control over everything and like he could do anything. So he did something that he wasn’t meant to do. He clambered into Alan’s seat in the cockpit and started hacking into the control system! If he was successful in the hacking, Virgil would have complete control over the vehicle. It took some goes but he was eventually successful. Once in, Virgil then closed the hatch; this meant Alan couldn’t get back into TB3.

Virgil smiled evilly knowing that he now had complete power over his little brother and his vehicle.

Meanwhile, on Alan’s end of the situation, things weren’t looking good. After inspecting the engines thoroughly, Alan had confirmed to himself that he needed to get the crew out now and to the safety of his ‘bird.

He knocked on the entrance hatch and said “Open up. International Rescue calling!”

The man from earlier let him in. “Thank goodness your here. How’s it looking?”

“Not good,” Said Alan grimacing. “We need to get all of you out of here now. Put your helmets on, grab onto me and I’ll take you back to the safety of Thunderbird 3.”

The family did as they were told. They all held onto Alan tightly as he fired up his rocket board and sped off back to his vehicle. Perfect timing too. The engines of the transport ship had reached a critical point. Alan tapped onto his controller to try and open TB3’s hatch. It didn’t open.

“That’s odd,” he muttered, confused.

“Anything the matter?” The mum asked him.

“Yes. The hatch is supposed to open up when I press the button. Why isn’t it doing as I ask?”

That’s when Alan saw something he didn’t want to see. From inside the cockpit, he saw his brother's face, staring down at him. Virgil had a mad gleam in his eyes and an evil smirk on his face.

“Virg!” Alan cried. “Open the hatch now! We need to get to safety.”

“Oh, I don’t think so,” replied Virgil. “I bet you’ll be fine where you are. Whereas for me, I’ll take the safe place for myself!” And with that, Virgil started TB3’s thrusters and sped off back to Tracy Island. Without Alan or the crew.

Alan tried to stop him but failed.

“Alan, what’s wrong?” Came Scott’s voice through the comms.

“Virgil is in Thunderbird 3 alone,” cried Alan. “My vehicle’s been stolen!”

And Alan swore, just swore, that as TB3 flew away from him, he heard Virgil’s blood-chilling evil laugh from inside.

\- TBC -


	4. The Rise of Midnight Tracy (Part 4): Lost and destroyed

Scott had immediately reported the situation to John and his dad.

“Why would my son do something like this?” Jeff asked himself. But secretly he knew exactly why. Now wasn’t the time to think about it though. Alan and the crew were in extreme danger.

“Alan!” Scott shouted. “Get back into the transport ship,”

“But Scott! The engines are about to blow up!” Alan protested.

“It’s the only way you’ll be safe. Now go!”

Alan sighed in frustration and did as he was told. Scott and Jeff gave each other a look of panic, worry, and fear. Little bro sped back to the ship while asking the dad, “Does it have an emergency safety room?”

“Yes it does,” he replied. “But I don’t know if it’ll survive the explosion.”

“Well, it’s better than nothing.” Said Alan as he approached the door. “Everyone get it now!”

He and the family of three clambered in. The dad unlocked the door to the emergency room. It was well built with a thick metal door and metal walls. No windows but some lighting.

“Thirty more seconds ‘til those engines explode,” Alan said quietly as he monitored the situation through his wrist controller. “Ten… nine… eight… seven… six… five… four… three… two… one…”

The last thing Alan was conscious of was the horrific sound of metal splinting through the air, glass shattering, a terrified girl's scream, and the loudest bang he’d ever heard. Alan squeezed his eyes shut as he held on tightly to the family. Time felt as if it stopped. He couldn’t feel anything. He heard glass flying. He heard fire starting to burn. He heard large pieces of metal clashing together as they were ripped apart by the explosion. Alan was scared; he knew he was. At first, he’d felt brave. But now fear had taken its toll and consumed his emotions. All the chaos seemed to last forever…

Alan could feel his body shaking after what had happened. He was shocked he hadn’t perished and was still alive and conscious. Slowly opening his eyes, he took a face full of his surroundings. Half of the emergency room had been torn off, the light was flickering madly, the fire burnt with anger at the engines’ end. Then there was the family. The girl had been clinging onto Alan for dear life; so had the mum. But the dad had appeared to be protecting them all. What a hero.

“Is it over?” Whispered the girl into Alan’s ear.

“Yes,” he responded, pulling her in closer to him. “It’s over.”

He saw the girl's appearance. She was young, probably only seven/eight years old. Her face was covered in black marks and scratches and her skin was pale. Her large amber eyes shone with terror. And her bobbed blonde hair had been messed up.

As the trio pulled away from Alan, they too looked around at the wreckage.

“What do we do now?” The mum turned her gaze towards the littlest brother.

“I don’t know,” he said, “but I know some people who will be able to help us.”

The family watched in amazement as Alan phoned into Tracy Island. “Guys,” he gasped (because he’d kinda been holding his breath the entire time), “I have a situation.”

“We’ve already sent some GDF space flyers to get you,” Jeff replied. “Hang in there son. We’ll save both you and the family.”

—

Virgil had pulled over Thunderbird 3 to watch the scene. He’d never felt so pleased with himself.

“Haha,” he laughed, “Alan wouldn’t have survived that. And even if he did, he’ll be dead soon enough.”

A call was coming in through the comms. It was Jeff. Virgil rolled his eyes but answered anyway, “What do you want?” He asked in annoyance.

“What I want is to know why you did that to your brother!” Jeff practically yelled at him. Virgil could see Scott in the background. He looked surprised. An angry Jeff was a rare and scary thing.

“I did it cuz I felt like it,” shrugged Virgil and attempted to end the call on his father. Jeff stopped him.

“No, you didn’t. You must have had a reason, son. And don’t speak to me like that! It’s disrespectful.”

“Does it look like I care?” Virgil was getting flared up again. “No. I don’t care. I don’t care about Alan or anything right now. Goodbye!” Then he ended the call.

Jeff was gobsmacked. He was speechless. He didn’t know what to say about his son’s behaviour.

“What now Dad?” Gordon had come into the lounge after sleeping in and wanted to help out. He’d already been given the details about the whole situation.

“There’s only one thing we can do,” Jeff faced both his children. Scott and Gordon gave each other the ‘This-Is-Going-To-Be-A-Serious-Answer’ look.

“We need to destroy Thunderbird 3.”

“WHAT?!” Scott almost fell over in shock. “Dad, no. We’re not doing that. It’ll take us ages to build a new one, and Alan would be heartbroken.”

“Scott… It’s the only way,”

“But Dad!”

“You heard him, Scott,” Gordon put a comforting hand on Scott’s shoulder. “It’s the only way.”

Scott let out a sigh of disappointment. “OK. Fine. Let’s do it.” He said quietly.

“Good lad,” Jeff nodded. “John, can you somehow take control of Thunderbird 3 remotely?”

“I can try,” John replied, “it’ll take some time but I’ll give it a go.”

“Do it now. I don’t want to waste any more time.”

—

John set to work hacking into TB3’s systems to take control remotely.

“John, I’ve detected some sort of anomaly. Do you want to continue?” EOS asked.

“Yes, that’s fine, EOS.” John hardly took his eyes off the screen as he worked carefully with his fingers. Suddenly, all lights went green and EOS announced,

“Access granted to Thunderbird 3’s systems.”

“Thank you EOS. Dad, I’m in.”

“Well done John. Now follow my instructions. Guide Thunderbird 3 into Earth’s atmosphere,”

The middle child did this and, to Virgil’s horror, the ‘bird began flying itself.

“Huh! What’s happening?!” Virgil cried.

Jeff carried on with his steps. “Take the vehicle towards Australia.”

Virgil was freaking out. “Why can’t I control it anymore? Ugh, blasted family!”

John kept on following his dad’s instructions until Jeff said one thing that almost made him change his mind.

“Hit the Self-destruct button.”

“No Dad. I can’t do that!” Cried John.

“Just do it. It’ll be worth it in the end.”

John’s hand was shaking as he remotely hit the self-destruct button on TB3’s control panel. A message came up for Virgil that said, ‘WARNING! SELF DESTRUCT IN ONE MINUTE!’

“Argh!!” Shouted Virgil as he unbuckled his seatbelt. “Time to get out of here.”

—

Thunderbird 3 was going to crash into the ocean. Scott had flown Gordon in TB1 to watch the scene. While a GDF flyer came in with Alan at the same time. Phew! At least Alan had been rescued and was A-OK. The family of three had been taken care of as well.

The fire was coming out of the ‘bird’s triple set of engines. It was just about to hit the water with an enormous splash when it self-destructed. A bright explosion lit up the sky! Black smoke, fire balls, and orange was all to be seen against the bright blue sky.

Alan watched in horror as his beloved vehicle was torn into pieces before sinking bit by bit into the deep, deep ocean. His breath caught in his throat. He felt as if someone had hit him so hard in the chest that all the air had been knocked from his lungs.

“No...” Alan took off his helmet. A single tear fell down his cheek.

Alan finally broke down. He took one final breath before collapsing to his knees and letting his held-back tears run down his face.

\- TBC -


	5. The Rise of Midnight Tracy (Part 5, Bit 1): Turning 20

Things were rough when everyone returned to Tracy Island. Jeff had called Virgil to his office for a private chat about his actions and Alan was struggling to cope with the fact that his vehicle had been destroyed. Scott and Gordon were comforting him.

When in the office, Jeff got straight to the point. “Virgil, son. I ask again. Why did you do that to Alan? You could’ve had him killed.”

“And?” Virgil really was acting like he didn’t care. Jeff didn’t fully understand.

“You mean you don’t mind that your own brother nearly died?”

“Maybe…” Virgil looked away from Jeff’s gaze and looked out of the window instead. It was getting dark now. The sun had completely set over the ocean and he could see the stars coming out. He a feeling of both slight guilt and pure pleasure inside him.

“Virgil!” Jeff addressed his son again. “Tell me now or you're grounded for a month.”

“Fine. I’ll tell you.”

Jeff leaned across the desk waiting for an answer. Virgil stretched out the time before saying simply, “Or not.” Then he jumped off the chair and legged it out of the office not even bothering to shut the door behind him.

“Virgil!” Shouted Jeff. “Come back here!” But he wasn’t quick enough. His second child disappeared off somewhere and Jeff was left standing in the dimly lit hallway.

—

Darkness was descending fast over the Island. Twilight had come. But the moon was already up.

Virgil was already ready for bed and didn’t bother with getting into his pyjamas. So he just stayed in his lumberjack/country boy outfit but obviously took off his shoes. Virgil stood on his balcony and looked up at the moon. It was very bright; so were the stars.

Access to the balcony was easy. It literally led right from his room. All the brothers had one. Even John when he came down from Five. Big glass sliding doors were usually left open on warm summer nights like this. There was a set of draping light, floating curtains (floor-to-ceiling) that hung on either side of the set of glass doors

Virgil let out a yawn. He was exhausted. “Time for sleep,” he told himself.

He went to his bed and got under the covers. The balcony doors had been left wide open because, and Virgil had become well known to this, that if he closed them when it was a warm night, he’d wake up sweaty in the morning.

Laying on his back, Virgil looked up at the ceiling, thinking about the day. Until, soon enough, he fell into a deep restful sleep.

-

11:59 PM.

11:59 PM.

You know you get these nights when you just wake up at a random time and you don’t know why?

That’s what happened to Virgil.

11:59 PM.

Why was that time so significant? Virgil didn’t know.

He slowly sat up in bed feeling annoyed at being woken up for some random reason.

His room was dark. But the moonlight shone in from outside which lit it up in a silver glow.

“Uh, well now that I’m awake, I might as well stargaze some more,” Virgil said.

After climbing out of bed, he went onto the balcony. But the second he was engulfed in the moonlight, he felt a sudden surge of energy shoot through him. It went up his body, down his arms and tingled in his hands.

The energy was dark and powerful. Virgil felt this and took a deep breath to embrace it.

“That felt… good,” he smiled. “But how do I get rid of it?” Virgil began shaking his hands, desperately wanting to make it go away. But it didn’t. He tried to forget about it by holding onto the rail of the balcony. But that’s when something else happened.

Vines exploded from the ground and winded up the rail, wrapping around Virgil’s fingers when they reached the top.

“What? Vines?” He gasped as he pulled his hands away. The second child stared at his palms in utter amazement.

“OK, OK, someone tell me what’s going on.” He said out loud. It was one of those questions where you didn’t expect an answer. “Well,” Virgil said, “I don’t know how I was given this energy but I feel good with it.”

Virgil then thought, “What if I was given it by the moon? I was given this energy by the main light of the night. And if I’m currently standing in the moonlight, then I can get more of it.”

Virgil gazed up at the moon and breathed in deeply. He felt the power flow through him and get deep inside him. Virgil looked at his hands again when he felt he had enough. “Now… What else can I do?”

Brother Two clenched his hand into a right fist and punched the ground beneath him. Energy ripped through the earth causing cracks to appear. “Cool,” Virgil grinned knowing he had control over something. “I’ve been given the powers of earth and nature. It’s the middle of the night, no one’s awake, so I might as well try them out.”

Virgil lost track of time as he began experimenting with his new abilities. He discovers he could lift boulders with his bare hands. He found out he could create small gardens and control nature. He could even turn the floor to stone by stomping hard on the ground.

And it all felt good. It felt good to have this much power pulsing through his veins. But it was all lost when the clock struck 1:00 AM exactly. The moon got hidden behind a cloud and Virgil felt his powers be sucked out of him. All the strength he’d been feeling was suddenly taken away.

“Huh,” he shrugged. “It seems that it only lasts for an hour. Oh well. There’s always tomorrow night.” And he let out a yawn which proved he needed to go back to bed.

But what Virgil didn’t know, was that the following day/night, everything would change.

12:00 AM.

August 15th.

2060.

\- TBC -


	6. The Rise of Midnight Tracy (Part 5, Bit 2): Turning 20

Virgil awoke the next morning feeling really hungry. He didn’t know why until he looked at his calendar.

Rolling over onto his side, he peered through the gloom.

August 15th!!

Today was his birthday. His 20th birthday!

And he was probably expecting some good breakfast.

The boy had never got ready in the morning so fast before. Within ten minutes, he was washed, dressed and ready for the day. Thank god there hadn’t been any early morning rescues to attend to.

As he headed off to the kitchen, the smell of freshly made pancakes drifted up his nose. After all, it was Sunday and Jeff always made pancakes on a Sunday.

That was one thing Virgil had missed for eight years. When his dad had disappeared off to the Oort Cloud, there was no one to make the pancakes. Grandma had tried on several occasions but it never tasted or felt the same. But now Jeff was home, there was that joy of good food on a Sunday morning to look forward to again.

Virgil felt his stomach rumble as he thought about the pancakes for breakfast and the cake he’d get in the afternoon (or maybe evening if tea was left late). That’s another thing. The boys' usual bedtime was nine PM but if it was a special occasion, like New Year’s Eve for example, then they were allowed to stay up REALLY late.

As he entered the kitchen, he was greeted with his dad’s warm smile and the overexcited faces of his brothers.

“And here’s the birthday boy,” Jeff came over to give Virgil a hug. “Happy 20th son.”

“Thanks, Dad,” he replied. “And you’ve made pancakes for breakfast. Luckily my 20th falls on a Sunday!”

“It’s almost unreal!” Grandma clasped her hands together. “My grandson is 20 today!”

“Yes, OK, Mum,” Jeff soothed. “Don’t go TOO over the top.”

“Sorry, sorry,” Grandma said but carried on smiling.

“Now, son. I bet you're hungry?” Jeff began to place some pancakes onto Virgil’s plate.

“Yes, Dad,” Virgil took it and sat down. After lightly sprinkling some sugar and maple syrup onto his morning treat, he took a large bite. Almost immediately, his face melted at the goodness.

“Mmm,” he said after he’d swallowed it down. “That’s good.”

“Glad you like them.” Jeff took a sip of his water.

“Right! Time for some presents!” Scott blurted out.

“Not all of them, Scott,” Jeff pointed out. “Some now. The rest in the evening.”

“OK.” The eldest replied. He shot off up the stairs and somewhere unknown to get the gifts.

“You’re going to love what I got you, Virg.” Gordon gave his older brother a cheeky grin.

“Oh no. Let me guess. It’s going to be another stupid prank?”

“Actually no.” Alan butted in.

“Oh.” Virgil raised his eyebrows at this news. For once in his life, his rapscallion brother Gordon wasn’t pulling a prank on him.

Virgil tutted to himself just as Scott came back with some carefully wrapped parcels. They were beautiful. Shiny blue metallic paper and a green bow, the same shade as TB2, on each.

“Come on, Virg!” Alan was getting excited about his bro’s reaction. “Open mine first!”

“Fine. Whatever.” The second eldest rolled his eyes playfully and unwrapped Alan’s present. It was perfect. A full set of acrylic paints in every colour of the rainbow and including fancy ones like gold, silver and bronze.

“Oh wow,” Virgil was pretty chuffed at Alan’s gift and his eyebrows went up again. “I was needing new paints but never got round to ordering them. Thanks, Al.” He hugged his brother.

“Me next!” Gordon said. Virgil opened up his gift to find a new shirt inside to make up for the one he’d cut up as a prank.

“Oh Gordo,” Virgil whispered. “Thank you.”

“Hey, I thought I’d get you one as you needed a new one anyway. It’s no big deal.”

“Well, it is to me. Thanks so much.”

“Anytime bro. Anytime.”

Virgil carried on opening the presents. Scott had got him a professional photography camera with full HD and high resolution.

John couldn’t make it down from Five in time but his present was a simple book called: The Wonders of Nature. Well. After last night, that book was perfect for Virgil.

And finally, there was Jeff. In Virgil’s view, this was the best present of all. It was a very slim parcel but felt delicate. He unwrapped it and the contents made his Baltic amber eyes light up! He gasped, “The latest issue of the Kip Harris Official Magazine! Yes yes yes!” Virgil began jumping up and down around the kitchen in excitement and happiness.

“Dad. I’ve been waiting for AGES for this one! Thank you!” Virgil hugged Jeff tightly.

“You’re welcome, son. Now, what can we do to celebrate?”

—————

The family spent the day playing fun games like Hide & Seek In The Dark. Alan ended up winning which wasn’t surprising. He was so small and so skinny. This meant he could fit into smaller spaces by flattening out onto his belly and rolling under stuff. Alan could also tuck himself into a tight ball and hide in small spaces that way.

There were only a few missions to go on during the day but Virgil didn’t mind coz he wasn’t needed in any of them.

Scott had to go to the Himalayas to rescue two mountain climbers and Gordon needed to help a crew of underwater scientists get out of their lab before it filled up with water.

In the evening, Virgil was needed on a mission. A mission just for him. He had to rescue three scientists from a glacier before it collapsed and crushed them. It was daring but Virgil managed to do it.

When he returned to Tracy Island, he was surprised to see Scott and the others (including John, who was on the hologram) sanding in the lounge with their rescue uniforms on. The time was forty-five minutes past 11 at night.

“What’s… going on?” Virgil asked.

“Come and stand next to Scott,” Jeff ushered his son to where he was pointing. “Stand tall. Straight back. Head high. Looking smart.”

“OKKKK?” Thank goodness Virgil was still in his rescue uniform.

“As you boys know, I was gone for eight years in the Oort Cloud. But thanks to you, you got me home and I’m so grateful for that. During those eight years, International Rescue didn’t have a leader so Scott took on that role naturally. And I’ve been thinking for a few days now that I’m going to retire,”

“What?!” Alan shrieked. “No Dad! You can’t!”

“Well, I think it’s time I did. I’m getting old and don’t think I can carry on.”

Alan shrank back as Jeff continued his speech.

“Because I’ve retired, someone else needs to be the new leader of International Rescue. And I know exactly who that’s going to be. It’s between Scott and Virgil. The two eldest.”

Virgil puffed his chest out and smiled warmly at his dad. From a young age, Virgil had always dreamed he would lead. Be the head of the organization and control missions. Along with that, Jeff also had a special badge to go with the title. It was a beautiful badge. Shiny silver and in the shape of the iR logo. It contained magic only to be used for hero/good reasons. And apparently, it was incredibly powerful. Virgil had never seen Jeff use it but was sure he had in the past.

“I’ve come to a final decision on who the leader is going to be,” said Jeff.

Everyone looked at each other in excitement.

“The new leader of International Rescue is…”

Virgil waited in anticipation for his name to be called out.

“Scott.” Concluded Jeff.

Virgil had to blink a few times to get the info right. He felt like he’d been punched in the chest so hard he couldn’t breathe. But it was true. Jeff hadn’t chosen him. He’d chosen Scott. All these years Virgil had dreamed of having that badge and being leader. Now it had been taken away. Snatched from his grasp.

Virgil glared at Scott with fire in his eyes. Jeff pinned the iR badge to the eldest’s belt. It shimmered in blue sparkles like it was always meant for him. Virgil disagreed. He just stood there in utter shock. He could feel the anger burning his skin and jealousy making his blood boil. He found himself unable to control a range of emotions. But the one that overcame the rest, was sadness. Suddenly, Virgil felt like he was going to cry. Taking one final glance at the scene, Jeff and Scott, and the iR badge, he turned and fled.

—

He was in his room.

Crying.

Still in his rescue uniform.

Crying.

An upset Virgil was a rare sight.

He was at his desk doing a simple watercolour painting of himself as leader. The person he always wanted to be. The badge on his green belt. Anger filled him up again and he snapped the brush in half. He pushed the painting aside and put his head on the desk to cry some more.

He was then snapped out of his moment by something outside. Walking over to the balcony, Virgil looked out to see a full moon in the sky. Tonight there was a full moon. You only got those once a month.

Like the night before, the dark magic came flooding back into him as he stood in the moonlight. But this time it felt even more powerful than before. As it pulsed through him, he also felt the urge to do something bad. Something that would give him what he wanted.

Virgil’s eyes went from brown to green again. And it was at that moment did he know exactly where he needed to go.

\- TBC -


	7. The Rise of Midnight Tracy (Part 6): His midnight transformation

He knew exactly where he needed to go. All that power and darkness inside him was irresistible and it gave him the confidence to do his bad thing.

But Virgil still felt upset about the whole situation. His face was damp from tears. Then, like magic, music began to play in the air. He knew the tune. It was “Queen of Mean” by Sarah Jeffery from Disney’s Descendants 3! But there were no vocals, no lyrics.

So Virgil sang his own. He was a pretty bad singer but he didn’t care about that now. This was his revenge song:

“I’m so tired of pretending, where’s my happy ending?

I followed all the rules,

I drew inside the lines,

I never asked for anything that wasn’t mine,

I waited patiently for my time but when it finally came,

He called his name.

And now I feel this overwhelming pain,

I mean it’s in my veins,

I mean it’s in my brain,

My thoughts are running in a circle like a toy train,

I’m kinda like a perfect picture with a broken frame,

I know exactly who to blame!”

As Virgil sang the first few vocals, he tried to paint more of his painting but the negative emotions came back and he snapped the brush in half. He went onto his balcony again to gaze out into the night:

“They never thought of me as mean,

I always dreamed that I would lead,

And there’s no in-between,

‘Cause if I can’t have that,

Then I will be the leader of the dark and bad,

There’s stone in my heart where all the good used to be,

And it’s calling me Midnight Tracy.”

That’s when something beckoned him out of his bedroom. To Scott’s room. Where the iR badge was being kept. Scott had decided he didn’t want to keep it on just in case it got wrecked. It was now in a glass case that stood on a plinth. Supposedly where Jeff thought it would be safe.

As Virgil entered Scott’s room, his eyes were immediately drawn to the glass case. Surely enough, inside was the magical badge. The moonlight shone through the window in the ceiling and directly onto it. It shimmered even more brightly, showing off how powerful it was.

Virgil circled the plinth as he continued his song:

“Being nice was my past time,

But I’ve been hurt for the last time,

And I won’t ever let another person that advantage of me,

The anger burns my skin third degree,

Now my blood's boiling hotter than a fiery sea,

There’s nobody getting close to me,

They’re gonna bow to Midnight Tracy,

You’re nightmare’s my dream,

Just wait until you fall to my evil scheme.”

That’s when Virgil did his bad thing. Using a strong punch, his fist bust through the glass and sent sharp shards of it flying everywhere. With case now destroyed, the badge was his for the taking. He reached his hand out and slowly picked it up. It was even more beautiful up close:

“They never thought of me as mean,

I always dreamed that I would lead,

And there’s no in-between,

‘Cause if I can’t have that,

Then I will be the leader of the dark and bad,

There’s stone in my heart where all the good used to be,

And it’s calling me Midnight Tracy,

Leader of mean!

Leader of mean.”

Even with the powers of the badge, it still didn’t feel like enough. Yes, Virgil had his earth and nature combined with the badge but it still wasn’t enough for him.

Someone spoke to him, “Viirrrgilll…” It sounded slow and scary. Like someone was trying to hypnotize him. Which unfortunately worked. The voice sounded like the Hood.

Virgil responded and followed it. He was led to Thunderbird 2 and was ordered to take it out to go somewhere. That somewhere was the Hood’s lair. Sneakily and silently, Virgil fired up TB2’s engines and launched into the night, away from Tracy Island.

The ride actually didn’t take long. He landed the vehicle and walked into the lair. Where was the Hood? He was nowhere to be seen.

The lair was dark and dingy. Stone walls and floors and hardly any light. But Virgil didn’t mind. The voice spoke again, “Viirrrgilll…” leading him to a separate room. It was surrounded by blood-red curtains floor-to-ceiling which brought up an evil vibe. But what stood in the middle was what Virgil really desired.

The Hood’s sceptre. The bright green gem on top glowing in the moon’s light which, just like in Scott’s room, came in from the ceiling. iR badge in hand, he began progressing towards it:

“Something’s pulling me,

It’s so magnetic,

I am moving, unsure where I’m headed,

All of my emotions have left me defenseless,

The darkness around is promising vengeance,

The price he’ll need to pay is expensive,

There’s nothing to lose when your forgotten and friendless,

So my only interest is showing the Tracys,

That I am the leader and my reign will be endless!”

As Virgil sang those last few words, he held the sceptre high above his head. The amount of power is contained was too much for him to resist. There was a bright flash of green light as his look changed in an instant. And it all happened when the clock struck midnight.

The combined magic of the badge and sceptre overpowered him. It took him a while to step out of his evil transformation daze but once he did, he loved his new look.

He pinned the iR badge to his now black belt. But it didn’t sparkle with blue light as it did with Scott, no. Instead, it turned black and the good magic changed to dark magic.

There were the final vocals of his song to sing:

“I want what I deserve,

I want to rule the world,

Sit back and watch them learn,

Midnight Tracy has been born.

If they want someone like me to lead,

I’ll be a leader like they’ve never seen,

I’ll show them what it means,

I am back,

And I’m now the ruler of the dark and bad,

There’s stone in my heart where all good used to be,

And it’s calling me Midnight Tracy,

Leader of mean,

I want what I deserve!!”

Virgil ended his song with a slam of the sceptre onto the ground. A bolt of green light exploded out of the gem and shattered the glass in the ceiling.

One thing was for sure, the good boy everyone knew and loved no longer existed. He’d been replaced with something much worse.

Midnight Tracy, the Leader of Mean.

\- TBC -


	8. The Rise of Midnight Tracy (Part 7): Virgil’s attack

The Tracys, including Jeff, had no idea of the night’s event. He’d completely forgotten about the curse. About everything evil.

The vibe in the lounge was chilled out. Everyone was just doing their own thing (Alan’s been trying to get to the cake). Scott and John were playing a game of cards.

John had managed to book some time off TB5 and let EOS take over while he was on the island. He wasn’t missing this special day.

Both Gordon and Alan hadn’t had any lunch that day as they wanted to save space for the big birthday meal later. But the two youngest being themselves, it was starting to affect them. Gordon had gotten tired quickly and Alan was dropping off to sleep already.

Once Scott had finished his game with John, Alan curled up in Scott’s arms. The eldest's grip was firm but not too tight. Alan’s eyes fell onto the cake again. It looks delicious. Red velvet with thick milk chocolate icing covering it, twenty green candles stuck in the top and green iced letters with it spelling out ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY VIRGIL’ in fancy writing. Jeff had actually gone to the effort of hand-making it this year instead of buying one.

Alan’s stomach was growling as he thought about sinking his teeth into the sponge of the cake.

“You hungry?” Scott added, looking down at the seventeen-year-old.

“Yeah,” Alan replied sighing. “I just want Virgil to hurry up. It’s past midnight and we haven’t had the main meal yet! He should’ve been back hours ago!”

“He was back hours ago,” Gordon piped up. “But when Scott was titled leader, he just disappeared. I haven’t seen him since.”

“Dad? Have you seen him?” Scott asked Jeff as he came bustling into the lounge.

“No. I’ve literally searched the entire house, top to bottom, including the emergency room, the basement and all the bedrooms. He’s nowhere.”

The room descended into an awkward silence before… CRASH!!!

The sound of lighting striking flooded the lounge. Everyone turned to the direction of the sound which was the glass doors of the lounge. Green lightning. Green lightning?! A figure strode out and, to everyone’s horror, realised it was the mission person they’d been questioning about.

There was Virgil. But he looked different. Very different. His normally blue rescue suit with the green belt had been replaced with a really really dark blue and black belt. His eyes were a vicious bright green. He had a streak of green in his black hair and the Hood’s sceptre in his hand. As well as all this darkness, Virgil also had Scott’s leader badge attached to his belt. It didn’t shine it’s glamorous silver anymore. No. It was inky black and didn’t shine. “I was hoping you lot would be home.” He said.

Scott let out a nervous “Ha,” and laughed nervously. “Is this a joke?” He asked.

Virgil looked at the sceptre in his hand with a sneaky smile.

“What are you doing with my badge and the Hood’s sceptre?”

“Well… I wanted them so I took them. You out off all people should understand that Scott.” Said Virgil. He spoke quickly but locked a direct gaze onto his elder.

Virgil began doing some sort of evil spell with his new prized possession but Scott stopped him, “Wait, Virgil stop! Don’t use that,”

The second oldest gave him ‘The Look’. “I thought you liked magic.” He hissed back.

Scott was left speechless again. Virgil kept staring at hi. The eldest tried a different approach, “OK, Virgil,”

“Quiet!!” Virgil yelled, turning away.

“Uh, Virgil, it’s not a toy, it’s dangerous!”

“I want to be dangerous!” He whipped back around to face Scott. He came close up to him, face-to-face. “My life was going to be perfect until you stole it,”

Scott looked at him with confusion and slight terror.

“And then you guys turned your backs on me.”

John, Gordon and Alan went close to Jeff who kept them close. They all looked at each other with worry.

“So, it’s time for a little payback.”

“Virgil, wait!” Scott finally found his words again and tried to talk sense into his brother.

Virgil strode back onto the outside balcony back into the moonlight, turned to face Scott directly, and blasted a bolt of dark energy towards him from the sceptre.

Scott yelped, “Ah!” and ducked down to avoid it. He didn’t get hit.

Once the energy had gone, everyone gazed at Scott’s state. He wasn’t hurt or anything, thank goodness.

“What?! How? I was meant to hit you!” Growled Virgil.

“Well, I’m sorry, but you didn’t.” Said Scott smugly.

Virgil clenched his teeth and his glow-in-the-dark green eyes narrowed to slits as he glared at the new leader. “OK. Let me explain in a different way,” he said sharply and began circling Scott, Gordon, John, Alan and Jeff. His plan was to trap them in a tight huddle.

“Ever since I was young, I always dreamed I’d one day be the leader of this organisation. I had my hopes up. I thought I’d be the one. Then Jeff called YOUR name,” he shot a look at Scott, “and my dream was destroyed! You have no idea how much it affected me. So that’s why I had no choice,”

“No choice but to steal the Hood’s sceptre? One of the most powerful and dangerous weapons in the world?” Alan butted in.

“Exactly.”

“How could you do this, son?” Jeff cried.

“There can only be one leader of International Rescue. And that leader will be me!!” Virgil threw an almighty punch onto the ground. A ripple of energy went through the earth causing cracks to appear. Jeff gasped at the sight as thick vines exploded out of them.

Virgil then raised his arms up like he was lifting an invisible boulder. Suddenly, the moon was covered up. It’s silver light disappeared. But Virgil was getting consumed by what looked like a ball of dark magic. It swirled around him. The magic looked like ribbons of blackness. Jeff and the others could see Virgil’s silhouette from inside. It lasted for ten seconds before there was a flash of green light.

A wicked smile spread across Virgil’s face. There was something horrific in his mouth now. Vampire fangs. He stretched as a set of midnight black wings sprouted and spread from his back. The magic went away to reveal the boy’s official evil look.

“Haha!” Virgil laughed. He examined his new adaptions then flapped his new wings and flew into the hair, sceptre at hand. “That’s more like it. All I needed was enough power!”

“Virgil? What are you doing?!” Jeff cried.

“Quiet old man!! It’s about time you lot learnt a lesson! And now I will do everything in my power to forge natures beauty!” The second child threw vibrations of dark energy into the earth. This made more cracks appear along with their tangly vines.

Alan and Gordon weren’t taking any chances. They tried to escape by running away back to their rooms. But Virgil saw and stopped them with his nature.

“Ahhh!” Alan screamed as the vines wrapped ‘round his whole body, pinning his arms and legs together and keeping him in the same spot. Gordon was the same.

“No…” Scott stared at the situation, his brothers, Dad, and then Virgil again. He had a mad gleam in his eye.

Scott, John and Jeff glanced at each other, nodding. Then they all ran behind a sofa together.

“Scared are you?” Taunted Virgil. “I guess this is like a game then. I win. You lose.”

Jeff was shaking behind the sofa. “I have a demon child!” He blurted out.

“Tell me about it,” Scott replied, feeling his stomach twist into knots of panic.

John didn’t say anything but his skin was pale. He was probably scared too.

Virgil had powers. They didn’t.

That’s when Jeff realised something. The curse! It was real! The Hood’s words came back to Jeff:

‘At the stoke of midnight on his 20th birthday, he will fall!’

What Hood had meant was that Virgil would turn evil! It all made sense. Jeff had a mini flashback to 20 years ago when his second son was first cursed. He was terrified. They all heard something crash from outside their hiding place.

Scott gulped with terror.

They were trapped.

\- TBC -


	9. The Rise of Midnight Tracy (Part 8, Bit 1): Battle

“Virgil, you can’t do this!” Gordon shouted up at his second brother.

“Why not?” He grinned back. “I can do whatever I want and no one can stop me!”

The two youngest gave each other a look. They nodded and began to try to wriggle themselves out of the vines.

“Hahaha! Try as you might; you’ll never escape. They’re too strong.”

Gordon muttered to himself, “We may be the youngest, but were strong. Don’t underestimate us.”

—

Behind the sofa, Jeff, John and Scott were having trouble thinking up a plan.

“What to do, what to do,” John said quickly.

“Son, calm down,” Jeff soothed. But he too was shaking.

“Dad? Any ideas?” Scott turned to his father.

“Actually yes.” He raised his eyebrows and took out something from his trouser pocket. It was shiny, silver, and glittered with blue magic.

“WHAT?! Dad, please don’t tell me that’s what I think it is,” gasped Scott.

“It is son.”

“An exact replica of the iR badge? Really?” John rolled his eyes. “Why do you casually keep another copy of a priceless badge in your pocket?”

“Well, you never know when it’ll come in handy.” Winked Jeff. Scott looked away, speechless AGAIN.

“What’s your plan?” Said John.

“Actually, it’s not me who going to use it,”

“Huh?”

“I’m not the leader anymore am I?”

Immediately, Scott knew where this was heading. “Great. You want me to fight him don’t you?”

“Yep.”

“Alright, fine. Give me the badge and I’ll do my thing.”

“It’s not that simple,”

Scott raised an eyebrow.

“This badge is priceless and irresistibly powerful. The powers you’ll be given are dangerous if used in the wrong way. The badge will give you the elemental powers of sky and lightning.”

“Sky and lightning,” Scott repeated. “Anything else?”

“That’s all. Here you go,” Jeff handed his firstborn the artefact. “Good luck and PLEASE be careful.”

“I will, Dad,” nodded Scott. He climbed out from behind the sofa to see wreckage everywhere!

Cracks layered the polished wooden floor of the lounge now and tangly vines were creeping out of them. Alan and Gordon were struggling frantically to escape. The scene was havoc! Scott pinned the badge into his silver belt and immediately felt something rush through him. It felt like magic alright. But not the dark magic that Virgil possessed. It felt strong in a good way. Scott could feel bolts of lightning and electricity running into his veins. It didn’t harm him. Instead, it gave him the strength to battle evil. Scott took deep breaths in and out to embrace his new powers.

—

Once finished, he came into the lounge centre and addressed his brother. “Hey, Midnight!”

Virgil span around. His green glowing eyes pierced into Scott aggressively.

“I’m back.”

“So,” Virgil sounded smug. “The leader of International Rescue has returned for an encore. Are you sure you’re not going to go all chicken and duck behind the sofa again?” He teased.

“No!” Scott’s voice was firm. “I won’t. Honestly, bro, look at yourself! Do you realise what you’ve become?!”

“Of course I realise,” the villain spat back, “and I love it.”

“OK then. Come and get me!” Scott spread his arms out like he was beckoning for a hug. Virgil smirked at him.

“Well, if you insist.” The Leader of Mean blasted a ball of magic towards Scott. Scott drew in a sharp breath before whipping his hands in front of him. Nothing happened. He didn’t get hurt.

Scott squeezed his eyes shut as he flew his hands up. Moments past and he opened them slowly. He was greeted with something HE’D created. A force field of lightning. Scott’s face lit up, knowing the badge really worked.

Virgil growled, “How did you do that?!”

“With this,” Scott lifted his belt up to show his brother.

“A new badge? But how? I stole yours!”

“Hm, well Dad may have had a spare.”

“ARUGH! Curse you, Dad!”

“Language, son!” Jeff scolded from behind the sofa.

“Whatever. Anyway, what’s your plan BRO.” Virgil locked his gaze back to Scott.

“My plan,” he responded, “is this.” Scott unpinned the badge from his belt. It shimmered in his fingers with its blue and silver magic. Virgil stared at it. He wanted that item so badly. He breathed in and out in desperation to control his urge to chokeslam Scott to death. It didn’t work.

“Ugh…!” He cried out. There was nothing for it. Virgil used the sceptre and blasted bolts of green magic towards Scott. Scott didn’t think to react faster than he did. He used his own powers to repel the earth and nature ones. The two blasts met in the middle and there was a flash of light.

Alan and Gordon shielded their eyes. The scene was so intense! The light disappeared and everyone could see what was happening. Both Scott and Virgil were fighting with their special powers! Fighting against each other; pushing their own magic sources to the limit.

Virgil had the stronger end for a sec and almost pushed Scott over! The oldest grimaced and shut his eyes in concentration. Virgil laughed evilly.

Scott didn’t know if he had enough power to defeat his own brother. ‘This is it,’ he thought, ‘my life is over.’

\- TBC -


	10. The Rise of Midnight Tracy (Part 8, Bit 2): Battle

“Come on, Scott!” Alan shouted.

“You got this, bro, you got this!” Gordon added.

Scott took a deep breath and pushed his magic towards Virgil. The villain cried out, “No!” And stopped himself from falling over.

Both leaders clearly weren’t going down without a proper fight.

Scott was slowly going down. Virgil had never felt so good about himself in his life!

The fight got to a point where Scott couldn’t stand his ground anymore. He lost balance and collapsed onto the floor. His shield of lightning disappeared.

“Scott, no!” John screamed.

“He failed…” Jeff whispered to himself.

Virgil cackled and his fangs glinted in the moonlight.

Scott coughed and tried to stand up. He couldn’t. His body hurt too much.

Midnight Tracy approached him after landing on the ground again. “And now…” he hissed, “to finish you.”

Alan gasped, “NO!” He’d chewed away at the vines enough to escape and run.

Just as one of Virgil’s powerful blasts of magic was about to hit Scott, the youngest dived in front. The world seemed to go to into slow motion as it hit Alan directly in the heart.

“AH!” Screamed Alan as he was thrown to the side and crashed onto the wooden lounge floor. He lay there shivering and shaking violently. He then curled into a ball.

There was silence in the room before Jeff yelled “NOOOOOO!!”

“Alan!” Scott ran over to his little brother.

Scott crouched beside him, his eyes letting tears spill down his cheeks. “Alan look at me. Please open your eyes.” He sat baby bro up amd cradled him in his arms.

Slowly, Alan opened his eyes and whispered to Scott’s ear, “I’m here.”

“Oh Alan.” Scott had never felt so happy to have a miracle. Suddenly, everyone saw something they didn’t want to see. A streak of black appeared in Alan’s blonde hair. Alan partially shut his eyes again and his skin had started to go pale. Scott looked up and glared at Virgil. “What did you do?!”

“I was meant to hit you not Alan!” Midnight snapped back.

“Get him to the medical bay of Thunderbird 2,” Scott told his dad, “Gordon will go with you and Brains can do a scan. I’ll look after Virgil.”

As soon as Gordon heard this, he shook himself out of Virgil’s vines and ran towards Jeff.

“Alright, good luck!” Jeff fled the lounge with a shivering Alan in his arms and Gordon at his side.

—

The eldest watched them go then turned his attention back to the villain. “So that’s how you want to play it, is it?”

“No, not really,” Virgil replied. “I wasn’t even planning of hitting Alan.”

“Well, you did. And now look what you’ve done! I don’t have any other choice but to do this now.”

“Do what now?” Virgil was confused.

Scott did his thing fast. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the tingling feeling of electricity running through him. Virgil didn’t have time to react; he just gasped and his eyes grew big. He was thrown back outside onto the balcony thanks to Scott’s wall of electricity, and the sceptre rolled out of his hand!

Scott ran over to see his brother’s situation. Virgil was now laying on the wooden floor, completely motionless, eyes closed, but still breathing. His evil outfit had changed back to his normal blue and green rescue uniform. The streak of green in his hair had gone. “Oh no.” Whispered Scott, brushing his hand across Virgil’s cheek.

Looking at the sceptre (in which the green gem on top was still glowing), Scott picked Virgil up on his arms and carried him to his bedroom. It was very late at night now; way past midnight. Scott just prayed that both Alan and Virgil would be OK.

\- TBC -


	11. The Rise of Midnight Tracy (Part 9): Awake and free

Alan lay on the medical bed in TB2’s pod. He was struggling to move his body and felt as if a dozen cables had been attached to him. Which, to be fair, was true.

“So?” Gordon asked Brains. “What’s the result?”

“N-not good,” the engineer responded, not taking his eyes off the computer screen, “Alan has been hit in the heart with dark magic. If it was the head, arm, or leg, for example, it would be easier to remove. But his heart makes things worse.”

“Will anything happen to him?” Jeff asked.

“It’s hard to understand the power that the Hood’s sceptre contained so I’m not sure what will happen. Here. I’ll take a scan now.”

Brains took a device off his desk the holographic light scanned across Alan’s body. Immediately afterward, a diagram of the little brother came up on the screen. The results were horrific.

Everyone in the room gasped. What the hologram was showing, were black lines spreading from Alan’s heart and slowly through him.

“That must be the evil magic Virgil threw at him!” Gordon spluttered.

“Correct.” Nodded Brains.

“And that’s what is inside me right now.” Alan had opened his eyes and was staring at the sight as well, “It’s Virgil’s fault.”

“Actually it’s not his fault,” Jeff finished.

“What do you mean, Dad?” Asked a confused Gordon.

“I won’t tell you now. It’s a story for later. Anyway, I wonder how Scott is doing.” Jeff rang in on his son through his comm. “Scott. How’s everything with you?”

“Not good, Dad,” came the exhausted response. Scott was tired from carrying Virgil to his bed. “Somehow, I don’t know how, but in defeating Virgil, I also hurt him. I’ve changed him out of his rescue uniform and into his normal clothes so he’d more comfortable. I’m putting him on his bed now to rest.”

“That’s brilliant, son. Well done. I’m coming over with the others. Hang tight.”

“Thank you, Dad.” Then the call was cut off there. “Right, lads, let’s go. You coming, Alan?”

“Yeah, sure. I can walk now.” The little brother slowly swung his legs over the side and stood up. He was shaky but A-OK.

—

When Jeff, Alan, Gordon, and Brains had arrived, they were surprised to see Grandma and Kayo already there. They were standing around Virgil’s bed along with Scott who had a look of worry on his face. To Jeff’s surprise, John was also there.

The sceptre was in Kayo’s hands but she didn’t get affected.

“Oh, Dad, good, you're here,” Scott breathed. “Can you use your magic on him?” He pointed at Virgil’s white pasty face.

“No, I can’t. Only the person who cursed him can undo the curse,”

“WAIT! BACK UP!” Alan shrieked. “Virgil was cursed?! Since when?!”

“It’s a very, very long story,” Jeff sighed. “I’ll tell you everything later on. Virgil is our main priority. And the person who cursed him was the Hood.”

The room fell silent as a stone.

“Like I said: a long story. I’ll call the GDF and tell them to bring him to us. We’ll need to be careful. But it’s the only way.”

“Then let’s do it,” said John. Everyone nodded in agreement.

—

Minutes later, a GDF flyer was parked on TB2’s launch strip and soldiers were coming out. In their grip, they had the man Jeff was wanting to see. The Hood. He had on handcuffs around his wrists and ankles.

Jeff gave him a stern look as they both walked into the villa together. “It’s good to see you again, Hood,”

“You too Jeff. And this time I’m here to help you? Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“Fine. Just this once.”

—

Once the pair got into Virgil’s bedroom, everyone turned their gaze to the bad guy.

“Hello again.” The Hood tried to smile nicely but it still came out nasty. Kayo was the first to step forward.

“It’s good to see you again, Uncle. And thank you for coming.” She said.

“Didn’t have much choice, Tanusha,” Hood replied. He tried to struggle out of the GDF soldiers’ grasp. “I’ll need to use my hands!” He snapped. With a small nod at each other, the soldiers’ let go.

“And I’ll need my sceptre.”

It was still in Kayo’s hands. Jeff gave her a look of ‘Give It To Him’. Reluctantly, Kayo did so.

As soon as the wicked item was back in the Hood’s hand, he felt his dark powers come back. But no. This time he wasn’t here for evil doing. He was here to help his old friend Jeff.

As Hood approached Virgil’s bed, everyone moved out of the way. The villain was about to perform a ritual that needed a lot of focus. As Hood waved his sceptre around, the room was filled with green light. He chanted a spell:

‘Evil and darkness,

Removed from his heart,

Break him out, set him free,

With a sudden spark.’

The green light disappeared and suddenly Virgil sat up in bed all by himself. Scott hadn’t tucked him under the covers; just placed him on his back on the duvet.

Virgil’s eyes opened and Scott was glad to see they weren’t bright green anymore, but their normal Baltic amber brown.

“Oh!” Grandma stood up from the chair she was sitting on, her hands clasped over her heart.

“Virgil!” Jeff gasped with joy. His face lit up. The Hood’s spell was worked! “Hood, what did you do?”

“I broke him free of my curse.”

“That’s perfect. Thank you so much.”

“Tell me it was all a bad dream,” whispered Virgil, looking around.

“I wish I could,” Gordon looked down at his feet, “but it’s over now.”

That’s when Virgil began to cry. Again! “I’m really sorry,” he said, “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”

“That’s OK,” Scott sat down on the side of the bed. “It’s gonna be OK.” And pulled Virgil into a tight hug.

“Aww, brothers reunited!” Alan gushed.

The two eldest came out of their hug and Virgil gasped. “Alan! Your hair!” He’d seen the streak of black in it.

“Yeah, that’s something you did. Alan jumped in front of me to protect me. You hurt him by blasting your magic into his heart. Now his hair is turning black.” Explained Scott.

“No, no. What have I done?” Virgil’s head fell into his hands.

“It’s not your fault. I’ll tell you the whole story after this is over. But for now, we still have a party to enjoy!” Jeff lightened the mood.

“That’s right,” Grandma piped up. “Let’s not let a little family scenario destroy today.”

Scott smiled at those words and turned to face his brother. “Well, Virg? What do you say?”

“Well, it’s gone midnight, there’s a full moon, the stars are shining brighter than ever! You’d better believe I’m in the mood to party!”

And that’s how the Tracys spent the rest of Virgil’s 20th birthday. Eating cake. Playing games. Cracking jokes (which Gordon loved). Nothing could ruin the night. The Hood had been taken back to prison with the GDF so no one had to worry about him.

At last, Virgil would have the 20th party to celebrate and remember.

\- TBC -


	12. The Rise of Midnight Tracy (Part 10): The end of it all

The rest of the night went by at its own pace. Jeff did tell everyone the long story about Virgil’s curse and how his natural hair colour wasn’t black. Virgil was sad to know this but also glad at the same time. He didn’t think that brown hair would suit him anyway.

Jeff went on about how the curse had given Virgil the mindset that he’d be leader in the future and how at the stroke of midnight on his 20th birthday, he’d go Rouge.

It was a hell of a lot to take in. Afterward, Virgil said that he needed some fresh air. He got himself a mug of coffee then sat outside on the balcony, legs dangling over the side and staring up at the moon.

Scott sensed something was up. He wasn’t convinced at all that his brother was telling the truth. “Can I go as well?” He asked.

“Sure bro. I guess that means more cake for me.” Alan had stuffed his face full of cake already. Scott took a plate of cake for himself and Virgil and took them out to the balcony.

“Hey,” he said.

Virgil jumped at Scott’s sudden appearance. “Oh. Hi.”

“You OK?” Asked Scott and sat down beside his second bro.

“Yeah I’m fine,” Virgil was trying to hide his true emotions. Scott wasn’t buying it.

“Come on, Virg. I know you’re upset about the whole curse thing. Here, I got you some of your cake.”

“Thanks. God, what a night it’s been,”

“It’s sure been… eventful.”

“I don’t know what to say,”

“About the curse?”

“Yeah. All my life I thought it was natural to think about me getting the title of leader. When really, I was under an evil spell for 20 years.”

“It’s not your fault, Virg. We all have our dreams for the future and sometimes they do get destroyed. It’s life.”

“I get that.” And then remembered he still had the badge in his pocket. Virgil took it out. It was still scarred black from when he transformed into a villain. “Here, I believe this belongs to you.”

Scott looked at his leader badge in Virgil’s hand. He took it and pinned it onto his blue shirt. Everyone, including him, had finally changed out of their rescue clothes. The black on the badge seemed to melt away; the magical silver returning. “Thank you.” Scott stuck his hand into his pocket where the spare one was. He felt it dissolve at his touch, never to be seen again. After all, it was only a replica.

“I’ve owed you an apology for a really long time.” Admitted Scott.

Virgil smiled. And it was a true, thankful smile.

“Again, I’m sorry for everything.”

“Hey, I understand. If you couldn’t be leader first try, you thought you’d have to go against it. You couldn’t help feeling jealous of me. I got magic and you didn’t. And that’s when the curse took its toll. You were fuelled by anger, jealousy, and revenge.”

They both sighed and gazed up at the bright, full moon for what felt like forever. Then suddenly, after taking a sip of his coffee, Virgil piped up, “There is still one thing that bothers me.”

“What’s that?”

“Why did the Hood curse only me, and no one else?”

— FIN —


End file.
